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Never flush medicines down the toilet.

We are pleased to announce that the Superior Police Department, in conjunction with the Douglas County Sheriff's Department and the City of Superior Public Works Environmental Services Division, is serving as a location to bring unwanted medicines.
The drop box is located in their lobby.

Bringing unwanted, unused, or expired pharmaceuticals to the pharmaceutical drop box is an important step in keeping your family and community safe. Keeping these substances in your home can lead to a number of potential problems.

70% of teens surveyed who take prescription medications for non-medical purposes said that they got medications from family members or friends (Partnership for a Drug-Free America).

4.8% of teens surveyed by the National Survey for Drug Use and Health took the pharmaceuticals from their friend or family member without asking (SAMHSA, 2010). Prescription drug abusers have also broken into homes and pharmacies with the purpose of obtaining pharmaceuticals.

If you properly dispose of pharmaceuticals, you will help keep prescription drugs out of the hands of drug abusers.

The risk of accidental poisoning is another great reason to remove unwanted, unused, or expired pharmaceuticals from your home. Approximately 95% children (age 5 or younger) accidentally poisoned by pharmaceuticals did so through self-discovery and self-ingestion (Bond, Woodward, Ho 2011). Pets are also at risk for poisoning from pharmaceuticals. Keep your family (human and furry) safe by storing current medications in a safe, secure place and by properly disposing of unused, unwanted, or expired pharmaceuticals at the Superior Police Department pharmaceutical drop box.

Pharmaceuticals in the Environment

Pharmaceuticals (drugs and medicines) are any product used by individuals for personal health and cosmetic reasons or used by agribusiness to enhance the growth or health of livestock. They are a diverse collection of thousands of chemical substances, including prescription, over-the-counter therapeutic drugs, and veterinary drugs. Studies have shown that certain drugs may cause ecological harm if they get into our nation’s water.

The U.S. Geological Survey tested 139 streams throughout the U.S. for the presence of 95 chemicals in 1999 – 2000 and found:

· 80% of streams contained 1+ of these chemicals· 50% of streams contained 7+ chemicals· 34% of streams contained 10+ chemicals
Pharmaceuticals enter the water when humans and animals pass drugs through their bodies. Excretion of pharmaceuticals (medicines) is the largest source of this pollution, and difficult to prevent from entering sewage or septic tanks. Upgrading wastewater treatment plants to treat/manage medicine waste will cost billions and would not address the issue for septic systems. Another source of this pollution is unwanted pharmaceuticals being flushed down the toilet - this was once the accepted norm. Clearly, this is no longer a sound recommendation, but you can make sure that these unused and unwanted medicines do not enter the water waste stream. You can prevent this pollution!